Car accidents kill people. Construction accidents kill people. Even a slip and fall in the shower has been known to occasionally kill a person. There is a limitless list of things that can kill a person, but we accept life has risks. We accept the convenience and commerce offered by automobiles all while acknowledging the negative side effect of vehicle fatalities, although regulations have made cars safer than decades ago. We accept building roads, bridges, and other infrastructure also comes with a negative side effect, although in this area we have done a lot to decrease construction fatalities through safety regulations. And yes, we accept that even the most mundane of things, taking a shower, could lead to death.

The murder of nine innocent people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina exposes the America-born con that gun ownership is the thing that protects individual liberty. If only you could ask one of the dead how free they now feel. And if only there were more bullets flying in that church, might we finally realize America has reached its finest form of freedom.

This past weekend saw the vicious murder of two New York City police officers, something you would expect to unify the law-abiding public, but as it turns out, the killer only gets partial credit for this heinous crime. Excuse me if I’ve misinterpreted the grandiose oratory of Fox News, right-wing media, and your conservative uncle. Because also deserving equal blame, in their myopic vision, is anyone who has ever questioned police tactics. Their estimation is two-fold. The killer is obviously to blame, but because he subsequently killed himself, the nearsighted now need the “unruly” protestors to stand in as proxy.

ISIS released a video today showing the (apparent) beheading death of U.S. citizen and journalist Steven Sotloff. I have not seen the video, and I do not plan to watch the video, because, I like everyone else have the same reaction: outrage at the brutality and gruesome nature of this new enemy.

I recently participated in a debate on Facebook about criminals and American incarceration. The debate sprang from an article about a repeat offender, committing yet another robbery only weeks after release from a nine-year sentence. My takeaway from this conversation is that America’s prison-industrial complex will not change as long as most Americans are passive on this issue. And that’s because there are a fair number of people in this country who have a philosophy that one should die for the crimes he or she commits, particularly if a repeat offender. In their minds, the only requirement that need be met for a death sentence is their sole judgement that this human being no longer deserves to live, and will never be a useful member of society.

Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that New York City’s controversial “Stop and Frisk” program violated the constitutional rights of thousands of residents. In response, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg holds a press conference to blast the ruling, citing anecdotal evidence in support of the unconstitutional policy.

At about 1:30pm today, President Obama delivered an unannounced address on Trayvon Martin, the Zimmerman trial, and race in America. He spoke at length about the African-American community and the historical and contemporary perspective in which that community views the not guilty verdict. “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” said Obama, later adding that most African-American males have experiences like the sound of car doors locking when walking across the street or a woman clutching her purse in an elevator. The president also said that Americans are aware of a “history of racial disparity in our criminal laws,” and that is good reason for government to review Florida’s “stand your ground” law and other state and local laws.